Superman

My dad went into the emergency room on Friday. My mom called and very quickly said, “Your dad had to go to the emergency room but he is alright.” Her voice told me that she believed he was indeed fine and so I didn’t worry. Later she called back and said that they were admitting my dad to the hospital and they were going to keep him overnight. She still sounded fine, but I started to worry.

I drove to the hospital and found my dad alone in a room in Emergency. He was wearing a very short hospital gown that was striped with lime and speckled with purple stars. He definitely looked out of place.

“Hi Dad” I said.
“How are you?” Is my dad’s typical response. Of course I told him I was fine and I asked how he was and he immediately began to tell me that he was really fine.

They admitted my dad and he spent the night in the hospital. The next morning “Kevin” came in and checked out my dad’s heart with this really cool sonogram machine. He asked, “Does he have a history of Bijiminy Premature Ventricular Constriction?” I said “What???” He repeated it really fast again and then said “PVC”. I was still confused and I didn’t like Kevin’s bedside manor. I wanted him to explain to me why my dad’s heart was skipping beats and what it meant long term. I pumped him for information but he was a clam. I immediatly wished that I had Google so I could figure out what the doctor was talking about, but later we found out that my dad’s condition was pretty common and could be corrected with medication.

Dad is fine – thank God. It is weird how you live your life taking people for granted. I just can’t imagine him not being here. I made sure to spend a lot of time with him over the weekend and we just talked and talked for hours – something that we rarely do.

The thing about weddings, funerals, and emergency hospital visits that bring families closer together. I didn’t like my dad having to go to the hospital, but I liked that fact that it made me realize that life is not guarunteed and that I can’t take my dad for granted. I think it also made my dad realize that he is not immortal and maybe now he will be a little more cautious with himself. He has a tendency to think he is superman and to many of us he is.

Please keep him in your prayers and if you haven’t called your dad lately, call him and tell him you love him.